I never liked the idea of baby showers even with my first baby, Kyle. I found them unnecessary, and personally, I didn’t want to hassle my friends with organizing a baby shower for me. Even if I organize my own shower, I somehow feel that other people will still have to put in a lot of effort by getting gifts. Back when I had Kyle, there wasn’t even such a thing as gender reveal, which is a big thing now. During my ultrasound with Kurt, the doctor asked if we wanted to know the gender or not, since a lot of parents have gender reveal parties. I told them that we wanted to know because I really didn’t have any intention to have a baby shower or gender reveal party. Anytime anyone asks me if we’ll be having a baby shower or gender reveal, I’d say no. We didn’t have one with Kyle, and I didn’t want to treat Kurt differently – I wanted to be fair to Kyle. Also, as I mentioned, I really didn’t want anyone to be hassled. I like to keep things simple. So every time someone suggested the idea, I would reject it.
About a month ago, my very persistent friend called me and she sounded super, super, super excited – my group of friends wanted to throw a baby shower for me. I told her I don’t want to inconvenience people, but she was very insistent. I wavered a little, and said I can help organize, but she made it clear that they will take care of everything. The only thing I needed to do was give them a date. She knew that a surprise shower might fail because I’m so busy and whatever date they choose as a surprise probably won’t work. They really had everything planned so that I had no choice but to say yes. My friends also explained that it will probably be the last baby shower in a long time within our group of friends. It will also probably be the last chance I had at a baby shower, since I’ve decided that I’ll only have two kids. With all the reasons, I was finally convinced to have a baby shower for Kurt. I gave them a date, and they started planning everything.
The party was really simple, and it’s not like a typical shower with games to help the new mommy learn the ropes. Since we’re all not first-time moms, the ladies just decided to throw a simple party as a celebration of my being pregnant and giving birth soon.
I loved the styling of the party – and I only saw just half of what was planned, because the venue (Shangri-la The Fort) was really strict about what can be brought in. I found it really beautiful and so baby-ish despite the limitations – good job StyledbyDeiz!
Part of the difficulty for me in baby showers is I didn’t want to stress out my friends about what to get baby Kurt. I told them that I would be perfectly happy with whatever gifts I receive. But my friends insisted on knowing what they can buy for us, because they feel that I already have a lot of the things I need – which is partly true. So I told them that the only thing I haven’t really gotten are baby clothes. I only go to one place for that – Mothercare. Mothercare is my choice because of the high quality cottons that are super comfortable for newborns. So four days before the event, I found myself at Mothercare Philippines in BGC making a baby gift registry for Kurt. This is really my personal choice for baby wear. I’m so happy that all the gifts I received were the things I’ve picked out myself, and I don’t need to worry about the quality of the material. If I need any more things for baby Kurt, I can always drop by Mothercare later on.
I really appreciate my thoughtful friends’ efforts to throw Kurt a baby shower. I may have been reluctant at the beginning, but the idea grew on me and I started getting excited by it as the days went by. More than the party, though, was the sincerity of the gesture. My friends made a lot of effort to be there despite their busy schedules. When I saw the photos, I realised that it was not just a party. It was really building memories with the people who are very important to me. One day, Kurt will see just how loved he is, even before he was born – he’ll see photos of the baby shower with the people who made it memorable for us.
Having this baby shower made me realize how blessed I am. Everything was lovely and I enjoyed spending time with the girls. I wanted to show my appreciation to everyone. So while they were busy preparing for Kurt’s baby shower, I also prepared a surprise for them! I got them thank-you presents I personally chose, from a brand that was recently introduced to me. I spent a lot of time thinking what would be a meaningful gift, and I finally decided on these handwoven bags by Bidi Bidi Enterprise. The brand works as an advocacy by providing employment to jobless mothers, and also gives scholarships to deserving students. I wanted my gift to not just be something the ladies will like, but also be a way to show support for a local social enterprise.
I’m so glad I got convinced into having this baby shower – otherwise I would have missed making such beautiful memories with the people who are special to me. I even had time to play with Kyle and the other kids, and of course spend time with my husband Paul. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed ourselves, but more than that, I was reminded that I am surrounded by beautiful people who truly care for me and baby Kurt. Motherhood isn’t just about one woman having one baby – it’s about a community coming together to nurture life. Thank you to my family and my best friends, The Kerry Belles, who are the most important part of my motherhood community.
Shout out to our photographer Andrew Co for capturing these precious moments for us 🙂
